Schroeder, the 22nd overall pick in 2009, has struggled to fit in at the NHL level due to his lack of size (5-foot-8, 175 pounds) and a myriad of injuries. Last year, he missed 41 games after undergoing ankle surgery; the year prior, he missed time with a broken left foot.

His best season came during the lockout-shortened ’13 campaign, when he scored three goals and nine points in 31 games.

Per 1130, it’s “very unlikely” the Canucks will qualify Schroeder, a pending RFA, on June 30. A former collegiate scoring sensation — he’s America’s all-time points leader at the World Juniors, and had 45 points in 35 games as a rookie at the University of Minnesota — Schroeder could be seen as a worthy gamble given the recent success other small guys had this year: Mats Zuccarello emerged from John Tortorella’s doghouse to become the Rangers’ leading scorer; Nathan Gerbe matched a career-high 31 points in Carolina after being bought out by Buffalo; Cam Atkinson scored a career-best 21 goals and 40 points in his first full season with Columbus.

It’ll be curious to learn Vancouver’s asking price for Schroeder. While he’s clearly not in the mix, the Canucks did pass on a number of other quality players to get him in ’09, including Ryan O’Reilly, Marcus Johansson and Kyle Palmieri.